Notes: Again, I thank all of you for your support. I never expected this kind of reaction to a plot bunny I was simply experimenting with at first. Thanks for the reviews and the constructive criticism. Both have a positive effect on my writing, and encourage me to write more.

Chapter 4

The chilling night air grazed Marius' skin as he led Eponine to their destination. For the most part, his journey with Eponine had been a quiet one. So quiet that Marius would occasionally glance behind him just to be sure that Eponine hadn't lost her way. Each and every time Marius glanced back, Eponine would still be following behind with her head lowered slightly. Finally Marius and Eponine reached their destination, the cemetery. When Marius stopped to fumble with the latch on the gate, he saw Eponine's expression change instantly.

Eponine whispered sympathetically, "Oh Marius, please say it isn't so."

"I'm afraid it is so," he replied, taken slightly aback by her sympathetic tone.

"But Marius, what happened?" Eponine asked.

Marius pushed the gate open and turned to Eponine briefly. "Come along, I'll tell you in a moment."

In all honesty, Marius was completely taken aback by Eponine's sympathy. In the past, she had always seemed very resentful of Cosette, and her jealousy had proven to be very dangerous at times. Marius shivered. Even now he couldn't forget her chilling confession as she lay injured in his arms.

That night at the barricades, she confessed her sin. Eponine Thénardier confessed that she wanted him to die with her at the barricades, and had led them there with that very hope. This very thought caused Marius to put a bit more distance between them. Even if it was ten years ago, it was still a very frightening thought.

"You don't seem very comfortable around me," Eponine continued, "Are you upset with me?"

Marius slowed up, a bit shocked by her words. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I didn't mean to upset you tonight," Eponine continued, "While I waited for you in the stairwell, I said to myself, 'You will not cause him anymore trouble, Eponine. Not tonight, not while he's being friendly with you.'"

At this statement, Marius' brow furrowed slightly. Her statement actually made him smile a little. Even after all these years, Eponine was still talking with herself. Even if she had changed a bit, there were some things that just couldn't be beaten out of her.

"It looks like I'm causing you a lot of trouble, and I'm sorry if I was in the wrong tonight M'sieur Marius," Eponine continued.

"It's alright," Marius said.

Marius looked around at the gravestones, and he began to feel affright. The cemetery was never a place he liked to go to at night. In this case though, he thought it very important to overcome his awkward fear. Besides that, it wasn't as if anyone would like to walk through a graveyard in the night. Finally they came across, Cosette's gravestone and Marius kneeled down before. Eponine followed his example, but maintained a bit of a distance.

"Tell me, why did she die so early?" Eponine asked.

"It wasn't a violent attack. It wasn't even illness that took her away. Cosette, she traded her life for someone else. Cosette died after giving birth to my son. He's what keeps me alive today. Without Etienne, I wouldn't have any reason to live. My life would be empty and meaningless."

"I feel really terrible," Eponine muttered.

"Why?" Marius asked, "You didn't do anything to cause her death."

"Oh, I know that," Eponine replied shamefully, and then hugged her knees tightly, "I just feel really awful about it. I don't know why. I just do."

Marius sensed the shame and guilt in her tone. "There's no reason to feel guilty about her death."

"I know," she replied, "It's just that—"

But she didn't finish her sentence, and instead their conversation fell quiet for a moment. The chilling wind picked up again causing Marius to wrap his arms tightly around himself. Eponine, on the other hand, remained unfazed by the rushing wind.

"You're always wearing gloves." Marius pointed out simply for conversational purposes.

Eponine smiled bitterly and replied, "I don't like them much actually."

"Oh," Marius continued, "Then why do you wear them all the time?"

Once again there was brief silence. For a moment, Marius watched as she gazed down at her hands, and then watched as she tore off one of her gloves. She presented a scarred hand to Marius. "Don't you remember, M'sieur Marius? I put my hand over that musket so that it wouldn't hurt you."

Marius shivered at the memory. "Yes, I remember. I don't think I could ever forget."

"I should probably go home now," she finally said, she was fidgeting.

Marius quickly caught her wrist and said, "What will he do to you when you get back?"

"I'm not sure," Eponine paused, "He's probably still asleep."

"But what if he isn't?" Marius asked again.

"I—" Eponine freed her wrist from his grip, "I have to go."

"Wait," Marius said.

"What," there was fright in her tone, "What do you want?"

"I was just wondering if I'd ever see you again," Marius replied.

She stopped dead in her tracks and said, "You want to see me again?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Do you really?" Eponine replied in disbelief.

"Yes," he repeated.

"Meet me at the same time and the same place tomorrow then," Eponine replied in a hushed whisper.

Eponine turned around, walked a few paces, and then turned around to look him in the eye. Marius smiled faintly, and then she took off into a run. Though he couldn't see, Marius could almost sense the tears in her eyes. Eponine wasn't accustomed to happiness, and right now he wasn't sure if that was what she felt.

Notes: I'm not sure how many chapters this fanfiction is going to be. I don't plan on writing more than twenty chapters for it though. Oh well, I'll see what happens! As always, if you can, please review. Concrit is nice too; it's something I haven't seen in awhile. Thanks for reading!